F1 Spanish GP Debuts at Madrid's New Madring Circuit — SkimNews
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Formula 1 debuts the 3.365-mile Madring street circuit in Madrid for the Spanish GP, the final European round of the 2026 season, with the race scheduled for Sunday September 13 and practice starting Friday September 11.
- Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers' championship after winning at Monza from 19th on the grid to first, extending his advantage to 66 points over George Russell, 76 over Lewis Hamilton, and 96 over Lando Norris.
- The Madring layout features a banked corner at a 24% gradient and is described as high-speed, with drivers set to be challenged simply to keep their cars off the barriers.
- Lewis Hamilton warned that overtaking will be difficult at the new venue, making Saturday's qualifying and track position critical to Sunday's result.
- The Madrid weather forecast calls for sunny skies across all three days with air temperatures around 32°C and no rain expected to affect running.
- The Formula 3 season finale takes place alongside the F1 weekend with three races, while Formula 2 is also in action across the Madrid program.
- Mercedes are not expected to hold the straight-line advantage that delivered their one-two finish at Monza, per the source, potentially opening the door for Russell, Hamilton, and Norris to recover ground.
Why it matters: Hamilton's warning that overtaking will be tough at Madring turns Saturday qualifying into the de facto race-defining session, and Mercedes are not expected to carry over the Monza-style advantage that produced their one-two — giving Russell, Hamilton, and Norris a real window to chip into Antonelli's 66-point championship lead on a circuit no team has data on.
Ask SkimNews
